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February 27 2018

Burlington Police Department Welcomes Two New Officers

By: Rich Hosford

The Burlington Police Department welcomed two new members to the force on Monday night.

Chief Michael Kent was at the Board of Selectmen meeting to recommend the appointment of two full-time officers to fill positions that will be made vacant by retirements.

At the recommendation of the chief, Town Administrator John Petrin appointed Officer Jillisa Smith and Officer Daniel Main.

Officer Smith graduated from Framingham State University in 2013 before attending both the Reserve/Intermittent Police Academy in Boylston and later the Worcester Police Academy, a release from the department states. She most recently worked as an officer with the UMass Worcester Police Department. Prior to her appointment there, she worked in banking and also assisted in caring for horses at the Emerald Isles Eventing Center in Westborough.

Officer Main graduated with a bachelor's degree in juvenile justice from Wheelock College in 2011, the release states. He was a four-year starter on the Wheelock basketball team and served for two years as a team captain while reaching 1,000 points scored over the course of his career. He then worked as a youth mentor as well as in construction before moving onto the NECC-Methuen Police Academy, where he earned the Outstanding Officer Award for his exceptional overall performance during the program.

He graduated from the academy on February 23.

Starting tomorrow, both officers will begin an in-depth 12-week field training program before being assigned to full-time shifts.

"I want to congratulate Officer Smith and Officer Main and welcome them to the Burlington Police Department," Chief Kent said. "I have the utmost confidence that their unique backgrounds and experience will be great assets for the department and the community."

Petrin said the two new officers are another example of the great applicants the town has been able to hire.

“We have great candidates coming to us,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned we’ve been getting the cream of the crop. Now we’re adding these energetic young people to a great department.

Petrin added that the Burlington Police Department has become an example in the area of how a department should be run.

“Many chiefs in the area look up to Burlington and what we do in the police department,” he said. “We should all be proud.”

Board of Selectmen Chairman Chris Hartling said that from the feedback he has received from residents he agrees with Petrin’s assessment of the department.

“I think from the amount of positive emails we get from the people who live here it is not hard to get behind the department,” he said. “People feel safe in their neighborhoods.”